Pages

1.09.2015

HAPPY CHRISTMAS, RON

Only a week or so late but hey! Here's a little bit of our Christmas in Utah.

For Christmas Utah gave us snow. And snow and snow and snow! It was lovely. The mountains were bare when we landed but by the time we woke up Christmas morning, everything had been covered in a freshly dusted topping of white. It was pretty magical. The boys went sledding and the girls did jigsaw puzzles. My niece Morgan filled us in on her secret for 45-minute showers: she brings her iPhone into the shower with her in a ziplock bag, tapes it to the wall, and then watches an episode of Parks and Rec while she washes her hair. Right? I'm still basking in the genius of this idea.

This is Brandon. Brandon is my husband. It's funny how after 11 years of marriage one can still discover new things about one's husband and his family. Such as: how deep an aversion to planning in advance some people can actually have. You know by-the-seat-of-their-pants types, right? Change-your-mind-but-forget-to-mention-it-to-anyone types? I'm finally getting into the swing of it, learning not to ask, "So what's the plan today?" and just paying attention to the subtle cues and rolling with it. One day, someday, I swear I'll be so chill. I'll be, like, the chillest person on the planet. All thanks to Brandon, the chill despot. I finally got past the thing where my inner planner goes on overdrive to compensate for the lack of planning, and now I'm like, sooo almost there.

Anyway, inflatable reindeer ring toss games.

My niece Jaycey got a Polaroid for Christmas that she instantly put to good use, terrorizing all of us when we least expected it. :) I rounded them up while she was out of the room and really looked at all of them, all of the faces in the family, the aunts and uncles and grandparents cousins, and I realized, you know what, these are an AMAZING keepsake! Ultra candid and horribly embarrassing and just so human, you know? I think I'm gong to need to remember this for next year on Christmas morning. I snapped a quick photo of our three so I could always remember. Brandon looks especially good here I think. :)

Huck was in little boy heaven on earth with his cousins. He idolizes them and they were so, so, so sweet with him. They wore him out clean good, and I got all the exhausted big baby snuggles a girl could want at night. That's some heavy duty mom heaven on earth right there. We are in cousin withdrawal now. Brooklyn is in stark shortage of cousins, somebody needs to fix that for us.

When in Utah there are a certain number of things one must do in order to fully experience the Utah in all the Utah glory.

FIRST: Eat at Cafe Rio, at least thrice. The pork salad.

THE PORK MOTHER EFFING SALAD.

SECONDLY: Fondle at least one of Courty's boobs. I don't know, you guys. This was such an awkward moment for my chest. My girls finally realized in that moment the full extent of their breastly inadequacy, and they still haven't recovered. I'd told them! I mean, I knew they sucked! (HAR HAR) I don't know how they called themselves boobs all this time, when THAT was parading around needing actual support and things. But, anyway.

I dreamed about nursing that night. It was very Freudian.

THIRDEST: Try whatever currently trendy food situation is happening in Provo. It was a Dirty Diet Dr Pepper double header! In a Swig vs Sodalicious showdown, I vote the Sodalicious sugar cookie the superior sugar cookie. Though both tasted mostly like sawdust. #wompwomp. Swig's DDDP was more carbonated than Sodalicious's, so take from that what you will, and soda accordingly.

LAST OF ALL: Boardgames, the national past time of the Holbrook clan. There were lots of board games going around. Most of the Holbrook classic board games are above Huck's skill level, though for his dad's sake he managed to get really into Candy Land for a minute. His dad may live to regret it. I think these photos of an edamame-fueled Chutes + Ladders game rather depict the thrill of victory and agony of defeat quite nicely, actually.

20 comments:

Oh boy! I love your blog. How do you do it? A few things, in absolutely random and fragmented form: Huck looks like a little penguin in those snow piccies! THE PORK MOTHER EFFING SALAD, is right. Priorities. Did you grow up in Utah? I started reading a book over the break called "Dating Jesus". It's a memoir type book of a woman raised as a fundamentalist mormon who eventually realized that Jesus/God/Life is a lot more than memorizing verses, attending bible camp regularly, and you know, all those things dealing in the realm of religion. I'm going through a very twenty year old self-realization period and that book was a rockstar, cause sometimes I feel a shit ton of shame for the things I'm not doing as a baptized member of the church. It was a good reminder that goodness is enough. All that to say, it reminded me a bit of you. If you haven't, you should read it.

chill despot! now I have something to call my boyfriend & his family that's nicer than "what is wrong with these people why can't they make plans more than 7 minutes ahead of time they are going to drive me over the edge with this shit"

I can not get over the cuteness that is your son. I love the last photo in the series of him and Brandon playing the board game. You can simply hear his laughter echoing throughout the photo! Thanks for sharing. Hugs!

I'm still trying to figure out what all the hype surrounding Cafe Rio is all about. It seems to be the trend these days in Provo. It's so weird when I hear Utah people rave about that place. I swear everyone and their dog who lives in Provo talks of this Cafe Rio like it's a miracle...it just kills me. LOL...

Oh my- I love this. I had to read the part about you and you husband to my hubby because it was just so us! We're about to have year ten so maybe on year eleven I'll have it mastered as you! We lived in Provo for one year after college, and cafe rio- I mean, it is so good! Glad you had a great time although I'm sure it feels good to be home!

Yes...cafe rio. I live here (Utah..bountiful..) and still love it as though I lived in a cafe rio-less state. The pork salad!!! Second, I don't think the sugar cookies from any of those swig look a likes are worth the cash. I just don't. And I agree, that perfect snowy white Utah Christmas morning was, well, perfect :)